Bridging and joist support



Patented Aug. 6, 1929. 1 i

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BRIDGING AND JOIST SUPPORT.

Application filed February 3, 1927.

This invention relates to supports or fastening devices for cross bridging ordinarily used between wooden joists of a building and for other purposes hereinafter described.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive device for securing the ends of cross bridging of a character permitting the placing of the bridging subsequent to layiin g of the flooring and su sequent to the shrinkage of the floor and joist members and previous to the plastering of the building. Heretofore with wooden joists the cross bridging is placed and the upper ends thereof nailed to the joists previous to the laying of the floor, While the lower ends are left unnailed until the material has shrunk and, previous to the placing of the ceiling, the free ends of the bridging are then nailed. This method of erecting the bridging is inexpensive in that the said bridging, due to its being attached at only one end, is readily dis placed in the erection. of the piping, electric light wiring etc., that usually is positioned between the joists.

A further object of the invention is to provide an attaching means for bridging to take the place of the usual nailing thereof. to the Wooden joists. With the nailing method not only do the ends of the bridging adjacent the floor have to be nailed before the floor is laid, resulting in the ready displacement of the bridging as above stated but the nails under any stress to which the nailing is subjected tend to split the bridging. As my device has no tendency to split the bridging, narrower bridging members may be used without sacrificing strength and at the same time resultin g in. a saving o'l. material. My improved device for this purpose enables the bridging to be placed subsequent to the laying ol the floor and to the drying out of the material. It further enables the bridging to be erected Without the use of nails in the bridging itself and therefore results in a saving in labor cost due to the more rapid and convenient erection of the bridging thereby reducing the cost over the nailing method. These and other objects and novel features of the invention are hereinafter more fully described and claimed and the preferred form of construction of a bridging or joist support is shownin the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a view showing a joist and floor in section with my improved bridging support in place.

'7 as applied to a joist.

Serial No. 165,510.

ticularly adapted for use in supporting a joist to a beam.

Fig. 8 1s a View of the device shown in. Fig.

As is well known the usual method of mounting a wooden bridging between wooden joists is to nail one end of each bridging member adjacent the floor surface of the joist before the floor is laid leaving the opposite lower ends thereof unattached lo the joist.

The reason or this method is that due to necessity of nailing the bridging members at the upper end and the flilll'tllOl. necessity of attaching the bridging to as near the upper edge of the oist as possible it must be nailed previous to the laying of the lloor. Subsequent to the erection of the floor and to the shrinking oi the floor and joist members the lower ends of the bridgin are nailed, it being usually the last operation previous to the placing of the ceiling in order that ample time may be given for the wooden members to dry out and thus become set. The laying of the floor brings the upper edges of the joists to a common level and it is in'iportant that the joistbridging be unsecured at this time so that the joists may readily conform to the level of the floorin g.

In its preferred form the device preterably of sheet metal shaped as shown in Fig. 3 or 4, the body of which is substantially U shaped in form having a cross member 1 and the side legs 2 and 3 formed by bending the metal at the points 4 and 5 respectively at practically right angles to the cross portion 1. Each of these members 2 and 3 is bent on a diagonal line indicated at 6 in Fig. 3 at a right angle to the respective leg so that the forward face of the outwardly bent parts 7 and 8 lie at a sharp angle to the cross member 1. At the terminal. end the legs in both instances are pointed and outwardly bent at a right angle to the respective portions 7 and 8 as is indicated at 9 and 10. Thus, in respect to the face of the members 7 and 8 the portion 1 when the faces of the members 7 and 8 are in vertical position lies at an angle to the said face. This will be understood more clearly from Fig. 2 from which it will be understood that the sharp points 9 and 10 may be driven into the oists 11 before the bridging is in place and the end of the bridging 12 subsequently inserted beneath the portion 1 and between the legs 2 and These legs prevent lateral displacement of the end of the bridging and the cross portion 1 takes com prcssion strain which, as will be understood from Fig. 1, is e-ndwise of the bridging 12.

In the erection of these supports the supports at the top of the joist are placedbefore the floor is laid, they simply having the points 9 and 10 driven into the joist as will be understood from Fig. 2as close to the top edge as is practicable and then subsequent to the laying of the floor and the drying out of material the wooden joist members 12 which have the ends cut at the proper angle are inserted in the sup orts at the upper end and the supports at the lower end. are fastened in place and the bridge is secured then at opposite ends by this stirrup like support and under endwisc compression. By use of this device the bridging is not erected until the joist and floor have assumed final relationship through the drying out process after erection and thus the bridging is put in place and under compression when the joists are in their final relationship and thus are in position to take all strains to which the bridging structure is usually submitted.

The faces of the portions 7 and 8 as ElbOVO described usually lie in contact with or closely adjacent to the side face of the joist and this, due to the form of the parts, causes the cross member 1 to lie substantially in the plane of the upper face of the bridging to be supported as will be understood from Fig. 2 and thus insures contact of the cross part 1 with the upper face of the bridging member. To further insure contact of the cross piece with the upper face of the bridging a rib 13 may be formed in the cross piece 1 coming on the under surface of the member 1 as will be understood from Fig. 2 and forms a rib adjacent the lower edge of the portion 1 as it lies in contact with the said face of the bridging irrespective of the exact angle to which the upper surface of the bridging may lie. This may be readily formed in the die in the formation of the member.

Another form of the structure shown in Fig. 5 is similar in all respectsto the forms shown in Figs. 1 and 2 except that the prongs are not formed by the ends of the legs 14 and 15 but are struck out from the side flange of the legs as is indicated at the two points 16 and 17 at the left of Fig. 5 or even a single prong 18 may be provided as shown in the right side of the said figure. Its function and method of erection, however, are practi fally identical with the forms previously de scribed. A feature of cmistrlmtion of sheet metal form is shown in Fig. 5 in which a prong 19 may be struck up from the cross piece 1 and may be driven into the upper face of the bridging in contact with the cross member. Another form of support more particularly adapted for use in supporting the lower edge of a. joist as shown in Fig. 8 is shown in Fig. 7. The joists frcqucnlfv are notched as shown in Fig. 8 with the extending end 20 of less width than the body of the oist, the purpose being to fit it to its beam support. There is sometin'ies likelihood of the joists splitting and to prewnt such a result a stirrup 22 shown in perspective in Fig. 7, is provided at the lower edge of the joist at the point of contact with the beam 21. This structure is practically identical in general form with the other forms shown except that the cross portion 1 lies substantially at a right angle to the edge 23 lying parallel with the face of the beam 21 when the device is in place as shown in Fig. 8.

While I have described a device as preferably being made of sheet metal it can conveniently be made of wire of such gauge as to provide the necessary strength. This form is shown in perspective in Fig. 6 in place with a joist and bridging. This form consists of the cross portion 1 the side members 24 and 25 and the driving prongs 26 and 27 which are previously sharpened to permit ready driv-- ing of the prongs into the oist. In the form shown in Fig. 6 the strains are taken in the same manner as with the sheet metal form and the lateral movement of the bridging is prevented in the same manner as with the sheet metal forms.

In all of the forms shown the driving prongs lie at less than a right angle to the face lying adjacent to the joist or beamthat is, in Fig. 3 for instance. the prong 9 is at less than a right angle to the face of the member 7 and in the form shown in Fig. 6 the prongs 26 are at lcss than a right angle to the legs 24 and 25 and in Fig. 7 the prongs 30 are at less than a right angle to the edge 23 of the legs. The purpose of this will be understood from an examination of Figs. 2, 6 and 8 from which it will be seen that the strain on the cross member by the bridging tending to pull the prongs from the oist is less liable to cause such displacement if the prongs are formed at less thana right angle as stated. In fact these prongs being formed at such an angle are in the nature of a hook and consequently the metal would break at the point of connection of the prong with the side legs before it would pull from the material.

From the foregoing description it will become evident that the device is very simple and inexpensive; is as simply applied if not more simply applied. than the usual nailing of the ln'idging in place as has been the practice and is of such character as to permit the bridging to be positioned. subsequent to the laying of the floor and drying out of the material and also that in thus placing the bric ging it may be put under edgewise compression by the driving of the supporting devices at the lower ends of the bridging as heretofore described.

Having thus fully described my invention and various convenient forms thereof and its utility and mode of use, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is- 1. A bridging or joist support consisting of a single piece of sheet metal bent to U- shape form having parallel legs and. a cross member therebetween at substantially a right angle to the legs, each having one edge thereof bent outwardly along one side at practically a right angle to the remaining portion of the leg and providing a plane surface ex tending at less than a right angle to the plane of the cross member, each of said legs having a terminal. prong bent atan angle less than a right angle to the said plane surface of each leg and by which it may be secured to a joist or beam, the said plane surface being adapted to lie in contact with the face of the said joist or beam and thereby positioning the cross member extending between the legs at an angle to the said face of the beam and providing a saddle for the end of a bridging memher, the cross member having a ridge formed therein with which the companion surface of the bridge member lies in engagement.

2. Means for fastening wooden bridging to extend at an angle between parallel faces of wooden oist members which consists of a single piece of sheet metal bent to a U form having parallel side legs and a cross member at a right angle thereto, each of said legs being bent on a line extending diagonally of the respective leg forming a plane surface extending at an angle less than a right angle to the plane of the cross member of the U adapted to contact the face of the joist or beam and thereby positioning the cross member at an angle to the face of the beam corresponding to that of the compan ion surface of the bridging inserted therein, said legs each being provided with a prong extending at less than a right angle to the plane surface of each leg.

3. Means for fastening \vooden bridging to extend at an angle between parallel faces of wooden joist members which consists of a single piece of sheet metal of substantially uniform width bent to a U form having parallel side legs and a cross member at a right angle thereto, each of said legs being bent on a line extending diagonally thereof forming a triangular plane surface extending at an angle less than a right angle to the plane of the cross member of the U and adapted to contact the face of the joist or beam and thereby position the plane of the cross member at an angle to the face of the beam, the said triangular plane surface of each leg terminating in a driving prong bent to an angle with the plane surface for attaching the mornber to the joist or beam, the whole providing a saddle for the end of the bridging with the parallel leg portions extending on opposite sides thereof preventing lateral displacement and the cross member preventing displacement in the plane of the bridging to withstand compression strains.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification.

HARRY J EROME DARLING. 

